Joshua merrill



@sind mes JOSHUA MERRILL, 0F BOSTN, MASSACHUSETTS.

Letters Patent No.v105,110, dated July 5, '1870.

IMPROVEMENT 1N sTAvE-B'ENDER.

The Schedule referred to in theseLetters Patent and making part 9i the same To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, JOSHUA MERRILL, of Boston, in the county of Suffolk and State of Massachusetts, have invented an Improved Stave-Bender; andY I do hereby declare that the following, taken in connection with the drawing which accompanies and forms part of this specification, is a description of my invention sulicient to enable those skilled in the art topractice it.

This invention relates to means for bending and forming to the desired dongitudnal curvature, staves of steamed wood, to be' employed in the formation of barrels, kegs, Ste., said invention consisting of a trame,

provided at one end with means for confining one end of'a stave-blank, and at the other end with a cam or wiper, by movement of which operation on the other end of the stave-blank, itis bent and held to crosspieces on the frame, located between the two ends, by which the desired longitudinal curvature is obtained, the stave-blank becomingr 's'et after the lapse ot' a sufficient though short space of time.

Figure 1 of the drawing shows my improved bender in vertical longitudinal section, with a stave therein, bent to the proper longitudinal curvature.

Figure 2 shows the bender iu side elevation, with a stave-blank inserted therein, ready to be bent and confined, so as to give it the requisite longitudinal curvature.

Figure 3 is a cross-section, taken in the plane of the line z z, seen in fig. 2, and showing the parts in elevation beyond looking toward the bending and holding device.

al is a bed-piece, on which are cast, at one end, two standards, c c, which form bearings for a shaft, b, on which is ixed a cam or wiper, d, said shaft having a lever, e, by which it is turned, to cause the wiper to operate on the stave-blank. On the bed-plate, between its ends, are cast projecting-ribs f j, with their top surfaces formed into -curves corresponding to the cross-sectional curvature of the staves, and having s uch different elevations above the bed as to correspond with the longitudinal curvature whichit is desired to give to each stave.

At the othcr'endof the bed-plate is cast with ita piece, g, in which there is formed a recess or pocket, the upper boundary of which colresponds tothe cross.- curvatnre of the stave. The stave-blanks being first sawed out from lumber with the proper cross-curvature, are steamed,to soften the wood, and then one is taken, it being subu 'stantially straight in the direction ,of its length, (the wiper being placed in the position seen in iigs. 2 and 3,) and the blank is passed under the wiper and over the projections f f, until its end is entered into the pocket formed in the piece g( The operator then, by means of the lever c, turns the wiper downward upon the stave-blank, bending it down until it touches and bea-rs upon the tops of pieces f j', the free end of the wiper being substantially concentric with its axis of rotation, so as to hold the stave upon said pieces f j until such time-as the wiper is turned back by the operator. In practice, a number of such benders are used for each operator, and, by the time jthe last one is filled with a bent stave, the stave in the first of the series wil-l have taken permanently the desired set, so that `the operator then throws the wiper upward, takes out the bent stave therein, and introduces a new 'steamed blank, which he treats as before described, and so continues through the series, repeating the operation again and again.'

' For different sizes of barrels, kegs, Ste., similar bender`s of different sizes are used.

By-reason of having the bed-piece ribbed transverse ly, the air has free access beneath the stave at almost all points, so that the drying and setting takes place equally and quickly throughout the stave, there being arranged to bend, hold, set, and release a stave, substantially as set forth.

JOSHUA MERRILL.

Witnesses:-

J. B. CROSBY, FRANCIS GouLD. 

